A race through dark places
by Kelly Moreland
Summary: This one gets a little dark. The team gets taken prisoner off world and it's not a pretty picture. Torture warnings. I whump on all of them a little... a little J/S R&R please
1. Chapter 1

Title : A race through dark places

By : Kelly Moreland

Disclaimer : I don't own them, I just toy with them at a whim and make no profit from it.

Warnings : This one gets a little dark, I dunno why. I love the team, I really do, I was just feeling a little morbid I guess.

Setting : Season 4, 5, or 6.

It wasn't Carters screams that finally got to him, it was Daniels. After all, Carter was trained to deal with this, Daniel on the other hand... Well, Danny boy wasn't.

"Jaaack!"

Jack O'Neill gritted his teeth hard and did nothing.

Nothing.

What else could you do sitting stark naked in a five foot by five foot cell, listening to one of your best friends being tortured? And it wasn't even by one of the snake headed bastards. Nope, this was the handiwork of the local population, some of them anyway.

Jack reflected for a minute on how they ended up here.

The trip through the Stargate had gone simple enough, the meet and greet with the populace started out okay too, it was just when Daniel started to draw symbols in the sand that everything went horribly wrong. Next thing Jack knew out came the weapons and away went all sanity. It seemed that a Goa'uld calling himself Herne had ruled over this planet had outlawed writing and enslaved the population. This had not gone over well with them.

Now they sat here stripped of everything listening to Daniel scream his head off, wondering who would be next. Carter was holding up admirably, as was Teal'c. Jack had just finally reached his personal limit.

He leapt to his feet and strode to the front of his cell

"Hey! You want to whack on someone a while why don't you try me?"

"O'Neill, that may not be wise." Teal'c said quietly from Jack's right side.

"I agree with him, Sir." Carter said from the left side. She had been the first one to be taken from her cell and they had listened to her scream for about four hours before they brought her back. Bloody, unconscious and half dead by the look of her. But she had rallied a short time later and Jack had been so proud of her for that. She had withstood God only knew what, and now here she sat naked and bruised, looking like utter hell, warning him about his safety. You gotta love that in one of your team mates.

"We have do something!" Jack said emphatically. "He's been in there longer than you were Carter, he's gotta be close to passing out by now."

"I know, Sir." Carter nodded her head. "I've been trying to come up with an idea."

Jack rested his head against the bars and waited for the next scream of agony.

It didn't come.

He really didn't like that. As long as he heard Daniel scream, he knew Daniel was fighting. Silence on the other hand could mean several things some of which he didn't want to contemplate just now.

He didn't have to wonder long because just then two guards dragged a naked and bleeding Daniel to the front of his cell and dumped him into a heap on the floor. Even after the guards had left, Daniel didn't move, laying there still as death.

"Daniel!" Jack whispered "Daniel!" he repeated louder.

"Lemme lone" came a barely audible reply.

"Daniel, you have to get up." Jack said a little softer.

Daniel twisted his aching body so that he could see Jack.

"Lemme rest, Jack"

Jack could see now that Daniel had been whipped. Angry looking red welts criss-crossed his body, front and back.

"Jesus Christ" Jack hissed angrily.

Seeing Carter had been bad enough, but they hadn't whipped her. They had merely contented themselves to beating her.

And all because they thought SG-1 was some kind of advance team for another Goa'uld.

"Stupid backwater planets," Jack muttered.

"Jack?" Daniel called thickly.

"Yeah?"

"How many days has it been since we got here?"

Jack remained silent, he didn't know how to answer that one. He knew from experience that when you are being tortured time slows to a crawl and drags out to eternity.

"It has been one day. We arrived here yesterday, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said, letting Jack off the hook.

One day, Jack thought to himself, one lousy day.


	2. Chapter 2

Someone had stuffed his mouth with cotton. He was sure of it. Even before he opened his eyes he was plotting their demise. And he was cold. That was what really woke him, the cold that had seeped into his bones. He opened his eyes and reality rushed in. PHX-403. They were definitely off his Christmas card list. Jack sat up slowly and looked around. Daniel still slept on the stone floor and from what he could see so did Sam. Teal'c appeared to be in a state of kel'no'rem.

Jack noticed the welts that covered Daniels body had faded somewhat but were still stark against his skin, and he wondered how much time had passed. He knew from long, old experiences that the mind played tricks on you in situations like this. Hours seemed like days, and days seemed like weeks.

Daniel shivered and groaned, his eyes suddenly opening.

"Jack" he said hoarsely "tell me you have a plan to get us out of here."

"I'm working on it, just hold on." It was all that he could say.

It was the truth, he was working on it. Trouble was he didn't have anything yet and they were running out of time. He could feel it.

What the bastards had done to Sam was bad enough, but Daniel had been much worse. God only knew what they had in store for he and Teal'c.

The guards appeared and shoved squat metal cups underneath the bars of the cells and promptly left. This had awakened Sam and stirred Teal'c from his meditative state.

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

Jack edged forward and examined the two containers in this cell.

"It looks like broth"

He lifted one of the cups and smelled it. It smelled like broth. He was debating on tasting it when a hand suddenly shot past him and grabbed the other cup. Before he could stop him, Daniel was gulping the contents eagerly.

"Daniel!" He growled in exasperation.

"Jack, it's broth. We need something to sustain us and it's better than nothing. It's even good in fact."

"He's got a point, Sir." Sam said, holding a cup in her hand.

"O'Neill, I do not believe they intend to poison us. It would be too quick for their purposes," Teal'c said.

"Oh, all right," Jack gave in, taking a small sip from the cup in his hand. It was good. In fact it was heaven. After two days of nothing the golden liquid slid down his throat like silk. He forced himself to sip slowly and savor it. It might be two days before he had anything else to drink.

He noticed the change in a matter of minutes and then it struck him.

"Oh crap,"

"What is it?" Daniel asked with a wide yawn.

"They wouldn't poison us, but would they drug us?"

He and Daniel locked eyes.

"Oh shit, Jack. You may be right." Daniel said with another jaw popping yawn.

Jack looked over at Carter just in time to see her slump to the floor like a rag doll. He had just enough time to wonder what was in store for them now before he too was swallowed by darkness

He woke strapped to a cold metal chair. The scenery had changed at least, he was in a room rather than the cell. He squirmed uncomfortably and yelled out.

"Don't you people believe in cushions?" The walls echoed his words back to him hollowly. Time passed and eventually a door in front of him opened.

An average looking man carrying a briefcase entered the room. He stood aside as a small table was brought in along with another chair and set up facing Jack. He set the case on the table between them and snapped it open.

'Oh crap' thought Jack, 'here it comes.'

But the only thing removed from the case was a notebook and a writing stylus.

"You can call me Mister Regear," the man said, as if Jack had asked him.

"That wouldn't be my first choice," Jack replied.

Mister Regear sat down and picked up the stylus.

"I'm here to discover who you serve. Compliance will be rewarded, defiance will be punished.

"We've tried to tell you, we serve no one. We are peaceful explorers--"

Jack's body arched as a jolt of electricity passed through him.

"Defiance will be punished." Mister Regear reiterated. "Now who do you serve?"

"No one"

"Mister O'Neill, we know you serve someone. You bear the symbol of your God. Now who is it?"

"What symbol? What are you talking about?"

Mister Regear sighed heavily and reached into the case again, bringing out Jack's dog tags.

"Those are for identification. That's all."

His body arched again as another jolt passed through him.

"Once more," Mister Regear said, "who is you God?"

"Go to hell!"

With a heavy sigh Mister Regear snapped his case shut as another bolt lifted Jack from the chair.

"I can see you need time to think" He said smugly. He rose and taking the briefcase with him walked to the door.

He stopped by the door and flipped a switch where a recorded message began to play "Compliance is rewarded, defiance is punished," over and over.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack listened to the recording and pulled against the straps until he thought he would scream. There were no more jolts of electricity, just the cold steel he was tied to. When he thought his mind would snap the door opened and two guards entered. They released him from the chair and gave him his pants and shirt but left him shoeless. He dressed quickly, trying to will his body to stop shivering as he did so. When he had finished one of the guards pointed to the chair.

"Sit."

Jack knew that unarmed he was no match for them so he sat down slowly as Mister Regear entered the room. The guards began strapping him in once more.

"I trust you had a pleasant evening?" the man said.

"Screw you," Jack said, fighting the restraints already.

Mister Regear gave him a cold smile.

"Compliance is rewarded, defiance is punished."

He was suddenly yanked backward to a reclining position and a guard entered carrying what appeared to be a bamboo-type cane.

"Aw come on," Jack said, "you've got to be kidding me."

_Whack! _Came the first strike across the soles of his bare feet.

"Guess you aren't kidding," he said through clenched teeth.

The burning pain was immense but he kept from crying out as blow after blow came. His sense of time spun away like a top out of control. His world was whittled down to the seconds of throbbing pain marked by sharps spikes of agony as the next blow came. He focused his mind on his team, wondering what Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c might be going through right at that moment. Finally he could keep silent no long and each blow brought a grunt of pain. It felt as if his feet were twice their normal size and burned with fire.

"Halt." Regear said, eyeing Jack carefully. "Take him back to his cell."

Sweet relief rushed in to Jack's mind that the pain would stop now. Until he tried to stand up. The guards grabbed his arms and Jack was taken back to his cell. They dragged him roughly, forcing him to hobble along between them. As they rounded the corner to the hallway that led to the cells he heard Carter scream somewhere near-by. Jack jerked away from his captors and straightened as tall as he could. He walked unaided to his cell never showing the agony he felt from his throbbing feet.

As soon as he was inside the cell and the guards had left he collapsed against the bars. He had been right, Carter was missing from her cell as was Teal'c, but Daniel could be accounted for. He was chained to the wall across the way, his body forming a perfect **Y**.

"Daniel?" he called to the archaeologist.

Daniel raised his head and tried to focus his eyes on Jack.

"Jack? That you?"

"Yeah, it's me. What happened to you?" Jack asked, lowering himself to the floor to take the pressure off his aching feet.

"Don't want to talk about it." Daniel said broodingly, shifting his still naked and battered body around in the chains. "I see you got your clothes back," he said petulantly.

"Except my shoes," Jack pointed out. "Not that I could put them on right now, my feet are twice their normal size."

"What did they do to your feet?" Daniel asked.

"Caned them," Jack said, "Can you believe that? Their technology is greater than ours, but they still torture people as interrogation measures."

"We're in deep trouble here, Jack. How long before Hammond sends someone looking for us?"

"He may have already, the question is what will the people here tell him."

"That depends on which faction he encounters first," Daniel sighed.

Jack knew he was right. When they had first arrived, despite a small language barrier it had become apparent that there were two opposing factions in the area. They had fallen into the hands of the hostile one.

Jack pulled one foot toward him and examined the bottom, stunned to see the entire sole of his foot had turned a dusky purple.

The jingle of keys in the cell door drew his attention away from his own misery as he noticed Teal'c, Carter, and Daniel were being brought back. His cell door opened and the guard set a tray of food down on the floor. Jack noticed that no trays had been brought for the rest of his team.

"What about them?" he asked the guard.

The guard simply shook his head.

"You may as well take it back then," Jack said, "I won't eat while my team goes hungry."

"Then let it sit there," the guard shrugged.

Jack's belly cramped and ached with hunger but he ignored the tray on the floor.

"Carter? Talk to me, Carter."

She was still naked, her bare body showed unusual marks around her wrists, ankles and neck. Jack resisted the urge to ask her what they had done to her. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, and then a sickening thought crossed his mind. What if they had raped her? Was that why he'd heard her screaming?

"Carter?"

She turned to look at him, both her eyes had darkened to black, an obvious sign that her nose was broken.

"Jack?" She said in confusion, one of the few times she had ever called him by his given name.

"You Okay, Carter?"

She seemed to focus a little and then answered him.

"Yes, Sir. I'm holding my own."

"Teal'c?" Jack called

"Yes O'Neill, I am fine."

Jack got the feeling the big Jaffa was lying, but wasn't going to call him out on it. Jack squatted over to the tray and examined it closely. It held a large chunk of bread and a bowl of soup. He picked up the bread and tore it into four pieces, as even as he could get them.

"Remember what happened last time," said Daniel.

"I know," Jack answered, "but like you said we all need to eat and I, for one, am willing to risk it."

Jack held out a piece of bread to the reluctant archaeologist and to his surprise, Daniel took it. Jack held the soup out next.

"Careful," he cautioned as Daniel drank from the bowl. Daniel stopped when his share was gone and handed the bowl back to Jack who took it to the right side of the cell where Sam stood. He passed the bowl between the bars and she accepted it eagerly. When she had consumed her share he crossed to the left side of the cell and repeated the process with Teal'c. He took what was left for himself. The soup was cold and bland, but it was better than nothing.

Revitalized by the small amount of food the four team members quietly discussed what the had experienced and leaned so far.

"Did any of you get the electric chair or the recording?" Jack asked.

"I got the recording, compliance is rewarded, defiance is punished," Daniel said.

"So did I," said Sam.

"As did I," Teal'c nodded.

"Anyone have any idea how long we were gone? Jack asked.

No one did. Just like him during the torture sessions all sense of time was lost.


	4. Chapter 4

It was only minutes after they finished eating that Mister Regear walked in.

"Are we ready to cooperate?"

"We've been cooperating, you just don't like what we have to say," Daniel pointed out quietly.

"I'm sorry, what was that Mister Jackson?"

"He said have a nice day," Jack answered quickly.

"Day? Who said it was day? It's the middle of the night."

Jack looked at the light streaming in the window and then back at the well groomed man in front of them.

"The window says differently," Jack said.

"The window lies," Mister Regear said pulling a small black object from his pocket and pointing it at the window. He pushed a button and the light was gradually cut off, as if a shutter had slid into place.

Now the room was lit only by four wall sconce.

"The window lies, I tell the truth. You will cooperate. If you do no cooperate you will die here. I will return when you are ready."

"Ready for what?" Jack asked.

"To tell me the truth in return."

"His version of the truth really blows," Jack said to no one in particular.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Daniel said, rising to pace the confines of the cell. Jack was apprehensive too, but thought he should keep that to himself. No need to let the others know what he really felt. Everyone's spirits were low enough as it was.

"Why do they always take my freakin' glasses?" Daniel asked out of the blue.

"To make you feel vulnerable, would be my guess." Carter replied.

"To keep you from causing yourself harm," came Teal'c's answer.

"Maybe they're just assholes," Jack piped up with a giggle. Three heads turned to look at him. Jack O'Neill was not a giggly sort of person.

"Sir, are you all right?" Carter asked with doubt in her voice.

"Right as rain, Carter."

Jack didn't sound right, not at all.

"Aw man," Daniel sighed, "I think I know why I feel so..."

"Lightheaded?" Carter said.

"Yeah, I think they slipped us something again."

"I do too," Carter agreed "Teal'c, how about you. You feel okay?"

"Indeed I do."

"You think they gave us a truth serum?" Jack asked the room.

"Yeah," Daniel said.

"Yes, Sir. I think they may have."

"Great," Jack said with aggravation, "then let me apologize in advance for anything I might say."

"I think, under the circumstances, no one will hold it against you." Daniel said distractedly. His hands gripped the bars so hard his knuckles were white, and he was staring at the chains across the way. The ones he had been bound in previously.

"I'm afraid," he said suddenly.

"Afraid of what?" Jack asked.

Daniel turned to look at him and Jack was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He struggled to his feet and limped over to where Daniel stood.

"I won't tell you not to be afraid. That's impossible sometimes, but I will tell you to not let that bastard Regear see it. We're all afraid Daniel. Do you know what I'm afraid of? Of breaking. Of letting these bastards win when they don't deserve to win." Jack said softly.

"Yeah, but I'm not strong like you and Sam and Teal'c--"

"The hell you're not! You're as strong a man as any I've ever met, and we're all afraid."

"I agree with O'Neill," Teal'c said, surprising them all.

Jack used the bars to help lower himself to the floor then leaned back against them.

"Daniel, Jack is right. We're all afraid and there is no shame in that. They are using psychological well as physiological tactics on us. By keeping us cold, hungry and beaten they think they can win," Carter said.

"Very good," Said Mister Regear, having come in quietly while the team was talking. "We will win eventually, one of you will break and tell me what I want to know. Now, who wants to confess and end their torment?"

"Go to hell." Daniel said with a grim look on his face.

"Doctor Jackson, surely you are a man of reason. You can end all this for yourself and the rest of your team. All you need is one word. A name."

Daniel said nothing.

"Very well," said Mister Regear, "we will proceed."

He motioned to the guards and they removed Daniel from the cell, dragging him across the room to the chains on the wall.

Jack listened as they shackled his friend in place and debated on not turning around, but he couldn't do that. He turned around slowly to see Daniel chained naked and facing the wall. All the welts and marks on Daniel's body from the previous day had faded to pale purple bruises, but Jack had no doubt that they were still painful.

A guard entered carrying some kind of coiled whip that didn't appear to be made of leather.

"One last chance, Doctor Jackson," Mister Regear said.

Daniel ignored him, his body shaking slightly.

"Begin with fifty from the waist down, and count them out."

Jack winced with the first blow.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven," the guard said with each vicious blow.

Daniel's body arched like a bow but somehow he stayed mute. By the time the numbers were in the thirties Daniel was starting to moan.

"Hang in there, Daniel," Carter yelled to him from her cell.

Jack had a new respect for her. Here she was, naked and bruised, yelling to Daniel to be strong.

"Forty three. Forty forty. Forty five," Jack realized he was mumbling each number along with the guard's count and digging his nails into his palms. The backs of Daniel's legs were a mess. The lines that criss-crossed it weren't just welts and bruises this time. Even from where he sat Jack could see that they were bleeding freely.

Daniel hung limply from the chains now, making no sounds at all and Jack wondered if he had passed out.

"Forty seven. Forty eight. Forty nine. Fif--"

Daniel suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

The sound brought Jack to his feet and he gripped the bars as if to tear them apart.

"What are you going to do, Mister O'Neill, bend the bars and kill me with your bare hands?" Mister Regear asked in a mocking tone.

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Jack invited.

Mister Regear chuckled, "Your turn is coming. For now though we'll put Doctor Jackson in his cell and wait for him to awaken so we can start again."

Daniel was dragged over and thrown into his cell, then with the guard following him, Mister Regear left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Alone in their cells, each team member was left to their own dark thoughts. For Jack it was the well being of all four of them. He had always felt a strong sense of responsibility toward people under his command, almost to the point of excessive. If there was such a thing.

Daniel lay face down on the floor of his cell and Jack scooted over as close as he could get.

"Daniel?"

"What, Jack?"

"I'm proud of you, you didn't let the bastards break you," Jack said. It was one of the few times he ever expressed emotions like that. With his flippant attitude everything seemed to be a big joke all the time, but not this remark, not here and now.

"You might think it's the drugs talking, but I've never been more proud of any team under my command as I am of you three right now," he said seriously.

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel answered, "but I'm gonna lay over here and rest for a bit, okay?"

"You do that," Jack said, "get a little rest."

"How you holding up, Carter?" he asked next.

"I'm fine, Sir. I think my nose and my cheek might be broken but I'm holding up." Jack had an idea. He stood up again and unbuttoned his shirt.

"Come get this, Carter," he said sticking the shirt through the bars to her cell.

"Really, Sir, I--"

"Carter, don't make me order you." He said in a warning tone. "It's not that I mind seeing you naked, I've even fantasized about seeing you naked, I-- Okay, that's the drugs talking. Put the shirt on, Carter."

She took the shirt from him. "I've fantasized about you too," she whispered in a barely audible tone.

"We shouldn't be having this conversation. Not here, not like this," Jack whispered, raising one hand to massage his temples where a thumping headache was developing.

"You're right, Sir. I'm sorry,"

"Did I apologize for anything I would say?"

"Yes you did, Sir."

"Good, because I need to say this." He put his hand through the bars and took hers, holding it gently. "You're beautiful, Samantha."

You could tell by the expression on her face that Carter never expected to hear those words from Jack O'Neill. Especially not in this situation, covered in bruises.

"For years I've been saying nothing and wishing I had, now that I've said something I wish that I hadn't," he laughed.

"Why?" she asked still in shock from his confession.

"The look on your face says I made a big mistake."

"No, you didn't make a mistake," she said, reaching through the bars and cupping the side of his face with her hand. Jack saw tears in her eyes. He didn't break the gaze they held on each other, but he called out to Teal'c who was on the other side of Daniel.

"T, how are you doing?"

"I too have been beaten O'Neill, but I am, as you say, holding my own.

"Keep holding on, we'll get out of here somehow."

He didn't want to let go of Carter's hand but his aching feet were beginning to rebel.

"I have to get off my feet. Sit with me for a few minutes, Carter?" he asked, lowering himself to the floor.

She eased herself to the ground as well.

"How did you get your clothes back, Sir?" Carter asked him.

"They just gave them to me, not sure why."

"Maybe you should keep your shirt, they might get upset at you for giving it to me."

"I'm willing to risk it. Can I ask you something Carter?"

"Certainly, Sir."

"What are those?" he asked, pointing to the marks around her neck, wrists, and ankles.

"They call them painbringers. They deliver an electrical shock if you don't comply."

"All five go off at one time?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Jeeze Carter. Have they... They haven't had someone... rape you, have they?" he grimaced.

"No, nothing like that. What exactly did they do to the bottoms of your feet?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Caned them more or less," Jack replied.

"Sir, I've been thinking. We know there are two factions on this planet and we encountered the wrong one."

"We know that now, yes," he said sarcastically.

"So how do we get in touch with the other one? With two factions you know there are spies here."

"We may have to wait for them to contact us," was all the hope that Jack could offer.

Jack eventually lay down in his cell and Carter followed suite, laying down in hers. They were cold and hungry. Time had little meaning with no way to mark its passing, except for pain. Pain eased off over time, but the waiting was hell.

Just as he was about to doze off to sleep his cell door opened and two guards entered. They hauled him to his feet as the same thing was happening to the other three team members.

He was dragged to the same torture room as before and was strapped down in the chair again. He was pulled back in a reclining position and the guard with the cane entered the room.

'_I won't make a sound,'_ he told himself as the blows began to strike the soles of his feet.

'_I won't make a sound'_


	6. Chapter 6

Jack bit the inside of his lip until it bled, but he kept his promise to himself and didn't utter a sound. In between each blow to his feet came the eternal question 'Who is your God'. With his military background Jack was trained to handle torture but very few times had he actually had to endure it, and never like this. No, the guard wielding the cane knew exactly what he was doing. The soles of the feet, no matter how strong you were, stayed sensitive.

'_Only thing we're missing is a executioner's hood and axe,'_ Jack thought.

The only thing keeping him sane at this point was his ability to remove his mind from the present. It was something he'd always been able to do, to just let his mind drift away from here and focus on something else.

"I can see we're getting no where," Mister Regear said, motioning to the guard, who stopped caning Jack's feet.

"Bring in the woman," Mister Regear said with a sick smile, "maybe she'll feel like talking."

"There is nothing to tell, don't you understand that?" Jack said emphatically. "We worship no goa'uld. She will tell you the same thing."

Mister Regear gave no answer, just waited patiently for the guard to return. While they were alone Jack made him a promise.

"One day, someone wearing a uniform just like mine is going to kill you. It may even be me that does it."

Mister Regear just smiled at him.

Carter was brought in just then, her lip bleeding from two places. She was still wearing Jack's shirt which somehow made her look small and innocent.

"Stay strong, Carter" he said to her, earning him a blow to the chin from one of the guards. Despite everything she had been through she managed a weak smile. They suspended her from her wrists in the middle of the room where Jack could see everything they did to her. Her toes barely touched the floor and he knew the strain on her arms must be almost unbearable.

"Cane her," Mister Regear ordered.

The guard didn't move.

"I said cane her," he repeated himself.

The guard walked over to him and knocked him out cold with one hit.

Jack watched in amazement as the guard let Carter then himself loose.

"We don't have much time and once you are outside the camp you're own your own."

"Thank you, I think we can manage from there. Anyway you can get our weapons back to us?"

"No, but I've arranged for some to be left just inside the woods. Stay on the path and you'll find them. Clothes and food are there too."

"Thank you," Jack said again.

"Not all of us are like Mister Regear. We would welcome trade with off worlders. We're not all paranoid." Jack didn't tell him that all trade options had been shot to hell.

Jack pulled Carter's arm around his shoulders and followed the guard to the door way. They went to Teal'c's cell next and freed him then on to Daniel's.

"I can stand, Sir," Carter said when they got to Daniel. "I think Daniel needs help more than I do right now."

Following the guard it took Jack and Teal'c both to help Daniel out of the compound. The guard pointed out an obvious path.

"Stay on the path. You'll find the bundle I told you about. You must hurry now, I have to go."

They needed no more encouragement, leaving the guard behind they ran into the woods. About fifty feet along the path they found the bundle. Once they were all dressed they struck out for the gate as fast as possible.

As they breasted the hill close to the Stargate they saw a welcome sight, SG teams four, and six with an established base camp.

"Major," Jack called out as they approached, "Get us the hell out of here."

"Yes, Sir!" he answered, ordering the gate to be dialed.

Jack and Teal'c kept Daniel on his feet until they could all step through the event horizon and were met by medical teams.

"Colonel what happened?" Asked Dr. Fraiser.

"Doc, you don't want to know. Just help my team," he said.

It was the last he saw of them for several days.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack woke up the with an IV in his arm. He was in the infirmary and assumed the rest of his team were behind the privacy screens that were set up around the room. He uncovered his feet and examined them closely. They were still a dark purple color and very sore to the touch. But sore feet be damned, he was going to find his teammates. He stood up carefully and winced as his full body weight came to rest on his two feet.

"Good to see you awake, Colonel," Hammond said to him from a chair by the bed. Jack had been so preoccupied with his feet that he hadn't even noticed the General sitting there.

"Do I need to order you back to bed?" Hammond asked with no hint of a joking tone.

Jack knew he wasn't kidding and got back into bed with no argument.

"Where are Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c, Sir?"

"They are all here at the SGC. Teal'c has been released from the infirmary, Daniel and Carter are here for observation, just like you. All of you took one hell of a beating but you'll heal."

Jack nodded in agreement. He knew what was coming and dreaded it.

"Son," Hammond said. "I need to know what happened out there. I know you went through hell, but we need to debrief."

"We walked into two separate factions and encountered the wrong one. They were suspicious of us, they were sure we were sent by a goa'uld to enslave their planet and for three days they tried to get information from us. What little food they gave us was always drugged in someway. But with the help of one guard from the other faction we were able to get away."

He stopped and drew in a long breath,

"That's it in a nutshell."

Hammond nodded and didn't say anything for a long moment.

Finally he spoke again, "What would you say to some real food, Colonel?"

Jack nodded his head, "That would be great, Sir."

"I'll see what I can come up with for you."

Good to his word Hammond had a tray sent to him and Jack ate as much as his shrunken stomach would allow. He still wanted to check on his team, so when no one was looking he slipped out of bed and peered around the edge of the first privacy screen where he found Daniel lay on his side with his eyes closed.

"Daniel, you asleep?"

"No, Jack, I'm awake,"came a soft reply.

"Feel like some company for a few minutes?"

"I guess so."

Jack took a few steps closer and sat down in a chair by the bed.

"How are your legs and back?"

"To quote the good doctor, they look like hamburger."

Jack winced in sympathy for his friend.

"Jack? About what I said when we were off world--"

"What are you talking about?"

"When I broke down and said I was afraid."

"I don't remember that at all, Daniel."

"Seriously, Jack."

"Daniel, I said I don't know what you're talking about and that's the end of it."

"Why do you always get the last word?" Daniel said with a snort of laughter.

"Because I'm a Colonel and you aren't," he grinned.

"Get some rest."

He carefully got to his feet which were throbbing just from the short time he'd been out of bed. He slowly walked over to the next curtain to find Carter awake and sitting up in her bed reading some kind of science journal.

"Keeping yourself busy?" He asked as he sat down.

"Trying to," She answered.

She actually looked worse than the last time he'd seen her. The bruises she had then, had turned to sunsets of color now marking her entire face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Not to bad,"she smiled.

"Carter, I'm sorry I didn't get you out of there sooner."

"Sir, I--"

"And I should probably apologize for what I said when I was drugged."

"It's OK, I understand."

"No, really. I'm not saying I lied, just that it wasn't the time or place for it."

"We were both under a tremendous amount of strain, Sir."

"Yes we were," he agreed, willing to blame it on strain and let it drop. He had thought Carter was beautiful since the day he met he, but never would he have said anything to her about it. It just wasn't his way.

"Colonel O'Neill!" Dr. Fraiser yelled.

"I think that's my cue," Jack said ruefully.

With no complaints he went back to his bed and eased into it. All his team were back at the SGC safe and sound, if maybe a little worse for wear, and that was all that mattered to him. There was only one piece of business left to attend to. He didn't know if Hammond would ever allow it, but he was trying to think up a way to go back to PCX-0403. He had a debt to repay to one Mister Regear.


	8. Chapter 8

It took a week before Jack could walk without limping. By then Daniel and Carter were both on the mend as well. Carter bounced back with a resiliency that secretly amazed him, but Daniel was having a difficult time. It was harder on the archaeologist for some reason. He had withdrawn from the group a bit and Jack had a pretty good idea what was bothering him. He caught up with Daniel in the hallway one day.

"Hey," he said easily, "wanna hit the gym with me?"

"Nah," Daniel replied, not looking Jack in the eye.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Jack insisted.

"I've got a ton of ancient texts that I need to be cataloging--"

"It can wait," Jack said, clapping Daniel on the shoulder.

"OK maybe a short workout," Daniel relented.

"Good for you, come on."

Jack waited until they were almost done with their work out before trying to ask anything.

"Daniel, you seem a little upset, anything you want to talk about?"

"Jack, I know you and the others are all worried about me, but I'm fine, really."

Jack put down the dumbell in his hand, and said,"You don't seem fine. You don't make a lot of eye contact, you hardly speak, something is wrong."

"Aren't you still bothered by what happened out there?"

Jack didn't ask where or what 'out there' meant, he knew.

"Yes, Daniel, I am. I want to get back at that bastard Regear more than anything, but I doubt General Hammond is going to let me go back and blow his head off."

"That's what he deserves," Daniel said with a distant look in his eyes. Jack had no doubt he was reliving his time PCX-0403.

"I still have nightmares about it," Jack began, "I wake up at night feeling my feet throb with each blow. I wake up not just remembering it, but reliving it."

"So do I,"Daniel said quietly.

Their work out had stopped completely in favor of the conversation.

"Did I tell you Dr. Fraiser says I'll probably have some permanent scaring on my legs?" Daniel asked.

"No, no you didn't," Jack replied, "But look at it this way, chicks dig scars."

Daniel whipped his head around and just stared at Jack for a minute before bursting into laughter.

"Well I hope they do," he said calming down somewhat, "because I've got plenty of them."

Jack just chuckled and picked up the dumbell again.

"So are you going to ask him?"

"Ask who, what?"

"Ask Hammond if we can go back,"

"I'm thinking about it."

"Well if you do, I'm in," Daniel said quietly.

By the next week Jack's feet were almost normal he could even run short distances, and the bruising was almost gone. Carter was back to looking like herself, and thanks to junior Teal'c was completely healed. Now Jack felt was the time to approach Hammond about a return trip.

"Colonel, not no, but hell no," Hammond said, glaring at him.

"But General--"

"We barely got your team back the first time you went. And that was only because you caught an inside break. Now you want me to send you back?"

"General, we all want to contact the other faction on the planet. I was led to believe that they were not as paranoid as their counterparts."

"Colonel we don't do revenge recon," Hammond said, sitting down behind his desk.

"Revenge, Sir?" Jack said innocently.

"If you try to sneak through that gate when I'm not here that's insubordination punishable by courtmartial."

"What would you want to do sir?"

Hammond was silent for a long minute.

"I'd want to kill the bastard."

There was a silent mutual understanding between the two men that pervaded the room.

"Has your entire team been released for active duty?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You have two hours to assemble your team plus two others, four and six are still here they would be excellent choices. Jack, your mission time is only four hours. One minute longer and I declare you overdue again."

"Understood, and thank you, Sir" Jack said already heading for the door.

Stepping through the gate this time was completely different than the last. All three teams were armed and ready for anything, but the area around the gate was empty. Using only hand signals Jack motioned his teams into place. Four was to stay here to guard the gate while six and one were to move out.

"Daniel, stay close to me," Jack said to his friend. It wasn't a request.

Daniel simply nodded and lined up behind Jack, following in his footsteps.

Finding the path they had taken through the woods after escaping the prison-like compound was easy, and in minutes they were back at the edge of the woods looking at the dark stone building which had been their own personal hell for several days.

Jack again used nothing but hand signals to move his team and SG six into place. This phase of his plan split them up a little more than he liked, but it was necessary. There was absolutely no movement from the compound so Jack decided now was the time.

"Wake 'em up, Carter," he called over the radio.

"Yes, Sir," she replied.

Seconds later the side of the wall was rocked by the explosion of a small hand grenade, and then a second one hit just beside the first, taking out most of the wall.

Jack looked at Daniel as guards and prisoners both scattered away from he building. Then Jack spotted his target. Mister Regear came out of the building, and just like Jack planned he wasn't running. Most of his guards had decided they had somewhere else to be, but Regear was looking for the source of the attack. So Jack stood up and casually waved to him.

Even from a distance you could tell that infuriated Mister Regear, which was just what Jack had planned. The torturer was trying to pull his guards together but the cover fire from Sam and Teal'c was making that all but impossible. So he grabbed a laser weapon from one of them and set out after Jack on his on.

Jack did something then that he hadn't done in years. He took off his hat and turned it around backward. Something he used to do on black ops missions. He carefully took aim through his P-90 and fired one shot. Mister Regear dropped like a stone, screaming and holding his knee.

"Now that's gonna leave a scar," Jack said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but you did him a favor because chicks dig scars, right?" Daniel said with a smile.

"You ready to head for home?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Daniel said, "let's get out of here."

The End


End file.
